SABAH POLLS: EC PREPARES SOP FOR ANY EVENTUALITY FOLLOWING UNCERTAIN WEATHER

TUARAN, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- The Election Commission (EC) is prepared to face any possible disasters such as floods and landslides following the current unstable weather conditions in Sabah to ensure the smooth voting process in the 17th Sabah state election tomorrow.

Its chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said EC had prepared standard operating procedures (SOP) and would act based on the current situation and information received from the District Disaster Committee in collaboration with the relevant local authorities.

According to him, the current unstable weather conditions are also expected to affect the voter turnout, especially in areas at risk of experiencing heavy rain or flooding due to the difficulty for voters to go out to fulfil their responsibilities.

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"Based on the existing regulations, no additional time is given. However, in extremely serious circumstances, the EC can take action to postpone or postpone the election (process) based on the situation and reports from the District Disaster Committee.

"The EC is always sensitive to these rather unstable weather conditions. Yesterday, we also discussed with MetMalaysia (Malaysian Meteorological Department) and NADMA (National Disaster Management Agency) to prepare for the possibility of any disaster occurring during this election," he said in a press conference today.

Earlier, Ramlan reviewed the preparations for the 17th Sabah state election at Dewan Seri Sulaman, here.

He stressed that the EC would mobilise assets and work with existing security agencies to ensure the state election runs smoothly, even in areas facing disaster such as floods or landslides.

"The EC will try to mobilise existing assets through security agencies to help facilitate the travel of voters. For example, in areas that are cut off from communication, district disaster committees will mobilise their assets such as providing boats and canoes," he said.

In terms of logistics, Ramlan said the EC would use helicopter services to bring election documents to 85 polling centres in island areas, while other areas would be connected using four-wheel drives and boats.

He said the voting process would take place from 7.30 am to 5 pm, but some areas including islands would close their polling centres earlier, around 11.30 am to 12 pm.

"We do hope that as many as possible will be able to vote. Based on the early votes, the voter turnout is more than 92 per cent. But with this weather, we expect more than 60 per cent to vote," he said.

Ramlan said the early voting results are expected to be announced around 10 pm, but he admitted that the EC had difficulty predicting the exact time due to the current weather conditions, but would try to ensure that it could be done around 12 midnight, tomorrow.

He hopes that more than 1.7 million registered voters in Sabah will be able to vote and subsequently elect representatives in their respective state constituencies.

"What is most important in this situation is that everyone takes the best steps to use this opportunity, this democratic channel to elect representatives who will subsequently form the government in Sabah," he said.

In this poll, 596 candidates are contesting in 73 seats.

For the latest news on the 17th Sabah election, please visit https://prn.bernama.com/sabah/index.php

-- BERNAMA